Now that the Seattle Seahawks have been crowned Super Bowl champs, it’s time to examine the historical context of the victory.

The Seahawks' fantastic defense was a crucial driving force behind their success all season, with some followers theorizing that this season’s unit could be considered one of the best compilations of defensive depth and talent that the NFL has ever seen.

So where exactly does the 2013 Seattle Seahawks unit rank in the historical pantheon of great NFL defenses? Scroll through our slideshow to see our list of some of the top D’s in football history.

The undefeated ’72 Dolphins get a great deal of historical attention when discussing the top all-around teams in NFL history, and rightfully so. To date, they are the only team to make it through an entire season undefeated.

Despite most of the headlines going to the offense, the ’72 team was great defensively, thanks to standout play in the secondary by safeties Dick Anderson -- who had 3 interceptions -- and Jake Scott, who had 5 of his own. Defensive end Bill Stanfill was also named an All-Pro. With the help of this excellent play on the defensive side of the ball, the ’72 Dolphins squad was able to pull off the undefeated season and its their place in NFL lore.

The ’69 Chiefs represent the oldest team to make our list, and it is true that their performance did come before the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. However, their top-ranked defense had a great year deserving of some historical recognition.

Standout players from this unit include All-Pro safety Johnny Robinson, who recorded 8 interceptions and 158 return yards. Cornerback Emmitt Thomas also had a great year, grabbing 9 picks and 2 fumble recoveries. In all, this ball-hawking secondary helped the Chiefs notch 32 interceptions, returning them for 595 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor had 10.5 sacks for the ’90 New York squad. This unit is also notable for its strong playoff performances, holding the Chicago Bears to 3 points in the divisional round and the Joe Montana-led San Francisco 49ers to 13 points in the NFC championship. The season would end with a Super Bowl title after Scott Norwood’s famous missed field goal gave the Giants the 20-19 victory.

The ’75 L.A. Rams have the rare distinction of holding their opponents to single-digit scoring throughout the season, keeping their foes to a miniscule 9.6 points per game. They also held opponents to 8 points or less 10 times throughout the season. This is good for the second-lowest opponent scoring average in league history and a spot on our list of the game’s all-time most suffocating defenses.

The ’71 Vikings boasted a suffocating defensive unit, holding opponents to a mere 9.9 points per game. In fact, for the entire season, they only allowed more than 13 points in a game two times. Top performers included Pro Bowl safety Paul Krause (6 INT), cornerback/kick returner Charlie West (7 INT, 236 return yards) and All-Pro defensive tackle and Alan Page.

(Interesting bit of trivia: In addition to being a Hall of Fame defensive lineman, Page is currently an associate justice in the Minnesota Supreme Court.)

The 2002 Bucs boasted one of the more stacked all-around defensive rosters the game has ever seen. Their ferocious pass-rush featured Hall of Famer Warren Sapp and former All-Pro Simeon Rice, and the defense also included one of the best linebackers of all time in Derrick Brooks, and lockdown pass defenders in cornerback Ronde Barber and legendary safety John Lynch. The unit powered this team to a 48-21 manhandling of the Oakland Raiders in the 2002 Super Bowl.

The 2013 Hawks come in at fourth on our list, although an argument could be made that they deserve to be ranked even higher than that. In a pass-oriented era when quarterbacks are putting up record-breaking numbers year after year, this Seattle unit excelled, putting up statistics that are comparable to the rest of the teams in our rankings. The famed “Legion of Boom” secondary is sure to go down as one of the deepest defensive backfields of all time.

This Seahawks team still has plenty to accomplish fresh off its first championship, and the squad's ultimate place in history obviously remains to be seen. But for now, everyone can appreciate that the Hawks’ 2013 defense possessed a level of talent and depth which places it firmly in the discussion with history's greatest.

The ’76 Steelers come in this high in our rankings mainly thanks to a nine-game stretch to close out the season that featured some of the most dominant defense ever played.

Following a 1-4 start to the year, Pittsburgh notched victories in all nine remaining games to close it out, led by a suffocating defensive unit that only allowed 28 points TOTAL through that stretch. The run included three consecutive shutouts in Weeks 7 through 9, two more to close out to the year in Weeks 13 and 14, plus 28 forced turnovers.

Although the team ultimately fell short of a championship, the historic dominance it achieved during the middle and latter parts of the regular season cannot be denied. Key contributors included “Mean” Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Jack Ham and Mel Blount, all of whom are in the Hall of Fame.

The 2000 Ravens were able to ride this stacked defensive roster all the way to a Super Bowl championship, even with the decidedly average Trent Dilfer playing quarterback.

Linebacker Ray Lewis and free safety Rod Woodson are both considered two of the all-time marquee players at their positions. Lewis led the 2000 team with 107 tackles while Woodson, Duane Starks and Chris McAlister made up a great secondary. For the season, the team notched four shutouts and held opponents to 10 points or less nine times. Much like the 2013 Seahawks, the team was able to use its shutdown defense to notch a Super Bowl blowout, where Baltimore vanquished the New York Giants 34-7.

The 1985 Bears team is widely considered one of the most dominant forces on both sides of the ball that league has ever seen.

The defense featured three first-team All-Pros in defensive end Richard Dent, defensive tackle Steve McMichael and linebacker Mike Singletary, who was named Defensive Player of the Year. The result was dominance of historic proportions, especially when you consider that the Bears also had a potent offense in its own right, led by quarterback Jim McMahon and running back Walter Payton.

A 15-1 record, No. 1 defensive ranking and Super Bowl championship are reason to enough to give the 1985 Chicago Bears D the nod as the top unit in the history of the NFL.

Disagree with our rankings? Don't see a team that got snubbed? Feel free to post your revisions in the comment section below.